Corpus Christi here we come!

These are pics from our trip to Corpus last weekend....the 6th through the 9th. They are all backwards, but I am to dang tired to try & get it right! Enjoy!
I really enjoyed fishing, even though non of us caught a single thing! Not even a tug, but that's alright! We had fun anyway!

The Girls! So cute!

Even Liv got to fish!

Fishing with daddy!

The boys!

Liv & daddy mini golfing!

Bowling!
Teagen LOVED the ocean! He played out in the water for the longest time! He loved boogie boarding!

Teagen in the sand!

Brayden thought it was pretty cool to be buried in the sand!

Trying to catch the cool little crab things before they buried themselves into the sand!

Collecting sea shells!

Kiley left the week before Halloween to do his LAST away rotation. He is in a fun little town called Corpus Christi. It is only 2 1/2 hours away, so he was able to come home for the Halloween festivities & the following week the kids & I headed down there to spend the weekend with him! He's been down there with one of his good buddies & so I don't think they've missed their families much because of all the fun they are having together. His family went down the same weekend we did, so it was fun for the kids to have friends to play with as well! We left late Friday night, Liv was sick that day with a fever & we almost didn't go, but the boys were DYING to get there. The drive was quick & we were all so excited to see Kiley. We spent the day at the beach on Saturday. It was perfect weather! The beach was full of dead jelly fish, but we still made the most of it. Sunday Kiley was on home call & just our luck, they called him in. It rained all day as well! So I took the kids bowling with our friends. Always a fun activity for the kids! Kiley finally got home around 3ish & we were pretty much lazy all afternoon. That evening we took the kids to an indoor glow in the dark golf course. They had a great time! Kiley had Monday off, so I decided we'd stay another day. So the kids missed school, but it was worth it to spend time with dad! We went fishing & enjoyed a little bit of extra vacation time before heading back to reality! It was a quick trip, not a whole lot to it, but fun & relaxing & ALWAYS wonderful to see Kiley & pretend we are all together again.....thank goodness he will be home for good this Friday! We've missed him terribly!

Olivia's adorable Hair Cut!

Nov. 2nd-

I have cute Olivia's hair a few times in the past, but decided it was time for a drastic change! I chopped it off into a cute little bob! She looks so adorable & grown up! Where has my baby girl gone??? She was so good & sat still! I was worried I'd butcher it completely, but I must say I did a pretty good job! Isn't she so cute!

Happy Halloween....a little bit late!

I feel terrible that I totally STUNK this year at taking pictures of my kids on Halloween. The boys literally darted out of the house, saw some of their friends & took off! Liv wouldn't hold still for two seconds for me to catch any decent pics, so these two are about all I've got. I may need to make them all dress up again so I can document it for the future! Halloween in San Antonio is a one of a kind experience. I really don't want to be mean, but really people!?!?!? Grown adults asking for candy, parents TELLING you to give their kid some extra pieces of candy, old ladies not even dressed up trick or treating, people taking their newborns out & collecting candy for them???? It is mind boggling to me, but I guess I don't really know the rules to Trick or Treating. All I do know is that it is always amazing the different people we encounter on the 31st of October in the Lone Star state!

Annual Friends Halloween Bash!

Fosters & Atwoods pulled off another fun Halloween party! I had the hardest time trying to figure out what we were going to be this year. Kiley had left the week of the party to start a rotation down in Corpus Christi (about 2 1/2 hrs away), so as usual I left the deciding until the LAST second! I did a bunch of searching on the internet & decided that we would be a plug & socket! I made it in a matter of 45 minutes & it was MUCH cheaper than buying it online. Kileys plug didn't quite make it through the night, oh well! As you can see, there were some great costumes: 80's Aerobics people, UFC fighters, Polygamist family, Spooky people, Wendy & Peter Pan, Biggest Loser, etc. It was a good laugh! We sure do enjoy our friends here in San Antonio! Thanks Fosters & Atwoods for a fun time!

The Whole Gang! Happy Halloween!

Music Class Halloween Party at our house!

I hosted the Monday Morning Music Class Halloween Party on Monday (26th). All the kids came dressed up in their costumes, ready to sing, dance, wiggle, trick or treat, & eat goodies! It was a great success. Everyone seemed so happy & calm! We sure do love parties!

Movement Time!

Liv LOVES the Nut song! She walks around singing, "I'm a nut, I'm a nut!"

Annual Mortensen Family Pumpkin Carving Party!

Okay, so it wasn't really a party, but it was still a good time! We carved pumpkins on Sunday a bit after we got home from church. Kiley had to leave that evening to Corpus Christi! He is gone for yet another month, but this is his LAST month having to be away! Any how, we got to work on the pumpkins & was surprised at how much both Teagen & Brayden were involved this year. Usually they are interested for the first few minutes & then run off to play. But this time they both stuck around for the most part & helped us out. Teagen & Kiley did a scary face. Brayden & I did a bat! This is something we have been doing since the first Halloween Kiley & I had together TEN years ago. We buy the fun pumpkin pattern books & have a great time seeing who can do the best! I think it is always a tie, but in all actuality, mine are usually the best! :)

Jack is BACK!

We went to Sea World on Saturday (24th) afternoon. It was VERY crowded, but we were able to do almost everything we wanted to do. They had a darling Sesame Street Halloween show, which was by far Olivia's favorite show of the night!

Kiley took Teagen & Brayden on Journey to Atlantis while Liv & I waited for the show to start. They made it back in time for most of the show. We tried to go through the haunted forest during the family friendly hour, but the line was well over an hours wait long, so we walked around a bit, visited the penguins, played at Happy Harbour, & then made our way over to see the Jack is Back Shamu show.

Jack!

I am not kidding when I say that it was crowded! We showed up at the stadium 30 minutes early & it was packed full, except for the splash zones, which of course we ended up sitting right there, but managed to get away with only a few little drops of water on us! It was a LONG day, but fun to spend together as a family!

This is how Olivia watched the Jack is Back show. She was a tad bit frightened!

We did have a bit of a scare. Liv decided to disappear for about 5 minutes. It was the longest 5 minutes of my life! She was holding my hand & the next second she was gone! LUCKILY, she wasn't too far. Thank Heavens for good people! Some lady saw her all by herself & picked her up & went to the nearest Sea World Employee. I spotted Liv & wasn't instantly relieved! I couldn't believe she would take off like that, but of course she would! She thinks she is 2 1/2 going on 16! I started bawling & all she says is, "Hi Mom!" I could have killed her! But then was so happy to have her safe & sound in my arms again! That little stinker! I keep telling her how sad & scared I was......just to try to get her to see that it isn't good to run away from your parents. She just smiles & tries to distract me with something she is interested in! It reminded me a lot of the time when we lost Teagen when he was this very age........oh the things us parents have to go through!

Trunk Or Treat!

Our church Trunk or Treat was last Friday, October 23rd. Our neighbors & good friends, the Berryman's came along! There was a chili cook off, lots of games for the kids to play, and of course the tradition of trick or treating at the trunks! We had a great time & enjoyed watching all of the kids run around with out a care in the world! Oh to be a kid again!

Ready to go!


Me, Kathryn, & Anna~such a great friend!

Olivia LOVES Caroline, cute little witches! And we can't forget her buddy, Draco/Cody!

Olivia got a nasty blister from her shoes & so Kathryn swooped in & saved the day! She knows that candy is the way to Olivia's heart! She was all better once she had that sucker in her mouth!

Gotta love Brayden's smile! I am sure he is smiling so big cause he knew he was gonna be cashing in on a lot of candy!

Halloween Piano Recital

All of the piano students with their teacher, Emily!

Teagen & Brayden had their first piano recital with their new teacher. They got to dress up, play a Halloween piano piece & one that they made up themselves. They both dressed up as GI Joe guys, we've never seen the movie, but they insisted that is what they wanted to be for Halloween. I only got a little bit of Brayden on video, so it is short & sweet. The parents had to leave after the recital & the kids got to stay & have a fun Halloween Partay! The boys did great, they practiced so hard & had their pieces memorized, but then I think they both forgot what they were doing & were a bit nervous! Teagen played his Halloween an octave lower than he was supposed to, but that is okay! They could careless if they mess up! I am glad they had a good time!